Switch-operating apparatus.



A. VAITAUBR. SWITCH OPERATING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 24, 1909.

A. VAITAUER.

SWITCH OPERATING APPARATUS.

APPLIoAfIoN FILED MAY 2411909.

Patented July 27, 1909.

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UNITED $TATES PATENT OTTTQE ADOLPH VAITAUER, OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA,ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO CHARLES M.

MAIER, OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

SWITCH-OPERATING APPARATUS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ADoLPI-I VAITAUER, a subject of the Emperor ofAustria-Hungary, residing at New Orleans, in the parish. of Orleans andState of Louisiana, have in vented new and useful Improvements in,Switch-Operating Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention pertains to apparatus for en abling a motorman on a movingcar to throw the movable member of a switch; and it consists in thepeculiar and advantageous construction hereinafter described andparticularly pointed out in the claims ap ended. a

n the drawings, accompanying and forming part of this specification:Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrative of the track portion andthe car portion of the apparatus constituting the best racticalembodiment of my invention that have as yet devised. Fig. 2 is anenlarged detail view showing the track portion of the apparatus. Figs.'3 and 4 are transverse sections of the same. Fig. 5 is a vertical,longitudinal sectional view of the car showing two of the tappetsthereon and the means for depressing and raising said tappets. Figs. 6and 7 are detail sec tions showing one of the tappets and ap purtenancesthereof.

Similar letters designate corresponding parts in all of the views of thedrawings, referring to which:

A is the casing of the track portion of my novel apparatus, which isdesigned to be arranged in the pavement between the rails of a streetrailway, with its upper side flush or approximately flush with thesurface of said pavement.

In addition to the said casing A, the track portion of my apparatuscomprises a vertically-movable shoe B which normally extends upwardthrough an opening a in the top wall of the casing and is provided witha depending rack bar I) and de ending guide rods 0, a body (1 fixed tothe ottom of the casing A and having a socket 6 receiving and adapted toguide the rack bar I), bodies f similarly fixed to the bottom of thecasing A and having sockets 9 receiving and adapted to guide the rods a,coiled springs 72/ surrounding the rods 0 and interposed between theshoe B and the bodies f so as to return the shoe to and normallymaintain the same in the raised position shown, a transverse shaftSpecification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 24, 1909.

Patented July 27, 1909.

Serial No. 498,013.

01 journaled in suitable hearings in the casing A and having a crank jat one end, a spur pinion fixed on said shaft i and intermeshed with therack bar 5, an endwise movable rod Z connected at one end to the crankj, a lever m mounted on a suitable support n and having one of its armscon- 7 nected to the opposite end of the rod Z, and an upwardlyextending bar 10 connected to the other arm of the lever m and havingafork r at its upper'end. The said fork r is designed to receive themovable element or point C of the switch so as to assure said element orpoint moving with the bar 1).

' It will be readily understood from the foregoing that when the shoe Bis depressed, the spur gear 7c will be turned in one direction, the barI will be moved in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 2, and the switchpoint C will be moved from its normal position to its other position;also, that when pressure is removed from the shoe B, the springs it willoperate to return the shoe and the other working parts to'their normalpositions.

In some cases it will be found expedient to arrange the shoes B of trackapparatus adacent the left-hand side of the track, and in other cases toarrange said shoes adjacent the right-hand side of the track, and Itherefore prefer to equip each car 1) with two of apparatus, one set forcooperation with those shoes B adjacent the right-hen (1 side of thetrack, and the other set for cooperation with the shoes B adjacent theleft-hand side of the track. The said sets of car apparatus areidentical in construction, and therefore a detailed description of theset shown indig. 5 will suflice to impart ad efinite understanding ofboth. The said set, 5, comprises a longitudinal shaft 8 journaled insuitable bearings on the underside of the car body and having wormscrews t, at intermediate points of its length, and a miter u at itsforward end, and upright shaft 1) journ aled in suitable bearings at theforward end of the car body and having a crank w and also having a mitergear as intermeshed with the gear a, vertically-movable tappets y guidedon rods 2 fixed to the car body and each having two longitudinallydisposed anti friction wheels a and also having a vertically-disposedthreaded bore 6 and vertical threaded shafts c journaled in suitablebearings (Z 011 the car body and disposed in the threaded bores b of thetappets y, and having wormwheels 6 at their upper ends, intermeshed withthe worm-gears t on shafts.

In the practical operation of my improvements, when a car approaches aswitch the motorinan rotates the shaft '0 on the side of the caradjacent the SVVil/Ch shoe B, and then at the proper times the shoe B isdepressed, first by the anti-friction wheels a of the forward tappet y,and then by the anti-friction wheels (b of the roar tappet y. Theforward and rear tappets are obviously so arranged relative to theforward and rear wheels on the same side of the car, that the forwardtappet will hold the shoe B depressed for the forward wheel to passthrough the switch, and the rear tappet will hold said shoe B depressedfor the rear wheel to pass through the switch. After the car has passedthe switch the shaft 0 is rotated in the direction opposite to that ofthe first rotation thereof, whereupon the tappets y will be raised.

The construction herein illustrated and described constitutes the bestpractical embodiment of my invention of which I am cognizant, but it isobvious that in the future practice of the invention such changes ormodifications may be made as do not involve departure from the scope ofmy invention as defined in the claims appended.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters-Patent, is:

1. In an apparatus for the purpose described, the combination of acasing adapted to be embedded in a pavement and having an opening in itsupper wall, a shoe protruding upwardly through said opening and hav inga depending rack bar and depending guide rods, bodies fixed in thecasing mid iaving sockets receiving the rack bar and guide rods, coiledsprings surrounding the guide rods and interposed between the bodies inwhich the same are socketed and the shoe, a shaft journaled in thecasing and having a spur pinion intermeshed with the rack bar and alsohaving a crank, a lever mounted in the casing, a rod connecting thecrank and one arm of said lever, and means for connecting the other armof the lever and the movable element of a switch.

2. In an apparatus for the purpose described, the combination of acasing adapted to be embedded in a pavement and having an opening in itsupper wall, a shoe protruding upwardly through said opening and having adepending rack bar and depending guide rods, bodies fixed in the casingand having sockets receiving the rack bar and guide rods, coiled springssurrounding the guide rods and interposed between the bodies in whichthe same are socketed and the shoe, a shaft journaled in the casing andhaving a spur pinion intermeshed with the rack bar and also having acrank, a lever mounted in the casing, a rod connecting the crank and onearm of said lever, means for connecting the other arm of the lever andthe movable element of a switch, a car track, one of the rails of whichis arranged adjacent the shoe, a car movable on said track, verticallymovable tappets carried by the car and having vertically-disposedthreaded bores, threaded shafts carried by the car and disposed in saidbores of the tappets and having worm wheels, a longitudinal shaftcarried by the car and having worm gears intermeshed with said wormwheels and also having a miter gear, and an upright shaft carried by thecar and having a miter gear intermeshed with that of the longitudinalshaft and also having a crank.

3. The combination in an apparatus for the purpose stated, of a car, averticallymovable tappet carried by the car and having avertically-disposed threaded bore, an upright threaded shaft carried bythe car and disposed in the bore of the tappet and having a worm wheel,a longitudinal shaft carried by the car and having a worm gearintermeshed with said worm wheel and also having a miter gear, and anupright shaft carried by the car and having a handle and also having amiter gear intermeshed with that of the longitudinal shaft.

4. The combination in an apparatus for the purpose stated, of a tappetguided and movable on a car, a threaded shaft for moving said tappet, asecond shaft gearing interposed between the shafts, and means forrotating the second shaft.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

ADoLi n VAITAUER.

Witnesses:

PHIL. H. MAY,

W.-G. RnBENTIscH.

